Tag: 3BL

They say good things don’t drop from the sky, but they recently did in Western Kenya: Two thousand rabies vaccines were delivered by drones in one day to help combat the disease in these rural communities. To ensure an effective cold chain storage, extensive collaboration was needed from pioneers on the ground, including NGOs, private companies, and public authorities. The use of drones introduces long-awaited, new possibilities for secure, on-demand delivery of life-saving products – for the individuals, animals and communities who need them most.

A black dot appears on the horizon, rapidly approaching with a whirring sound. Excited children race through the streets, chasing the flying object, as dogs bark in the background. This marks the arrival of an eagerly anticipated delivery in Bungoma County, Kenya, where the use of drones is creating new possibilities – bringing with them two thousand doses of rabies vaccines for the local communities’ dogs. Rabies is a fatal disease, primarily caused by dogs.1 These deaths could be avoided if available vaccines could be securely transported and cooled, readily accessible even in remote regions.

Joyce Wamalwa is a healthcare worker at the Kibisi Dispensary hospital in Kenya, facing the harsh reality of the immense suffering the disease brings to the people she serves. “We’re doing our best to combat rabies, but it’s tough,” she says. “We lack vaccines and must send patients to other hospitals for life-saving treatment, forcing them to travel for hours on rough roads.” Wamalwa is regularly in touch with the local organization Core Health and Wealth International (CHW) and was asked earlier this year to share her insights and experiences. It marked the beginning of what became a successful pilot project to fight rabies in Kenya and unfolded through a remarkable collaborative effort between us as a multinational corporation, start-ups and local organizations from our Making More Health (MMH) initiative, government authorities, and the people on the ground.

Providing medication to underserved communities

In many Sub-Saharan African countries, vaccines and temperature-sensitive medical products are mainly transported by motorbikes, with limited storage, cooling, and security. Unstable cold chains make verifying vaccinations difficult and hinder timely rabies vaccine delivery. To implement an effective vaccination delivery program, it was essential to leverage the expertise of many of our partners in our existing Sustainable Development for Generations. “We have worked hard to build trust and create effective partnerships on the ground, with the shared objective of creating better access to essential health services,” says Ayman Eissa, Lead Sustainable Development at Boehringer Ingelheim IMETA (India, Middle East, Turkey and Africa). Collaborating with local NGOs from our Making More Health (MMH) network, like CHW and GAASPP (Golden Age and Albinism Support and Protection Program), a regional community organization in Western Kenya, the team was able to rely on a strong foundation of trust to engage the local communities. The next step was to find an aerial transportation partner to explore opportunities with a lasting impact on healthcare outcomes.

“We have worked hard to build trust and create effective partnerships on the ground, with the shared objective of creating better access to essential health services.”

Ayman Eissa,
Lead Sustainable Development at Boehringer Ingelheim IMETA

Partnering for drone distributions

Upon joint consultation, Daniel Blay and his team from Zipline, specializing in on-demand drone delivery, became part of the Kenyan pilot project to distribute vaccines. Their long-range, high-speed drones weigh under 25kg and carry up to 3kg. Dropping packages from a height of 30 meters, they fly at altitudes between 100 and 200 meters, remaining virtually unnoticed until they are just two minutes away. „Zipline serves as the technology provider, but our success depends on strong partners on the ground who mobilize communities and supply high-quality products,“ says Zipline’s Vice President Blay.

To cover the crucial lastmile to remote vaccination stations, VacciBox, a portable solar-powered fridge, was used during the campaign. „Not a single vaccine was wasted that day,“ Norah Magero, founder of Drop Access, proudly recalls, emphasizing that the challenge is not a lack of vaccines, but rather spoiled vaccines due to inadequate storage. The start-up joined the MMH Accelerator Program earlier this year and was asked to support the rabies project. This experience demonstrated VacciBox’s potential, now capable of storing up to 3,000 vaccines and running for 36 hours on battery.

On-site insights, people who recognize the program’s benefits, and professionals constructing dispensers for the delivered products (as done by CHW) are crucial for the project’s success. An impressive tally of approximately 2,000 dogs were vaccinated at eight different sites throughout Bungoma and Kakamega County in only one day. By the end of the year, the program aims to distribute an additional 10,000 doses across Kenya’s Lake Region Economic Bloc.

Disruption to by an entire ecosystem

The Kenyan pilot project builds on a successful proof-of-concept in Ghana, aiming to create robust health systems using drone delivery. CowTribe is one of the organizations that made this innovative collaboration possible in the first place. The Ghana-based start-up offers a platform for livestock farmers to access vaccinations and veterinary services by aggregating demand and has been part of the MMH network since 2019. In collaboration with Zipline and a cross-functional team from Boehringer Ingelheim, the pioneers had established a holistic approach to identify infrastructural pain points for farmers and agro-vets, building a groundbreaking distribution system.

In the first half of 2023, 292 drone flights distributed 1.4 million poultry vaccine doses to nearly 5,000 rural smallholders, which resulted in a significant reduction in vaccine costs. “Nearly all our deliveries are now drone-supported, cutting customer wait times from several days to a maximum of eight hours,” confirms CowTribe CEO Peter Adwin.

The impact of drone delivery in healthcare, facilitated by reliable collaboration on the ground, is truly remarkable: This innovative approach not only has the potential to make the delivery of essential healthcare products more efficient and cost-effective, but it also enables on-demand deliveries without the need for storage at a facility. “Our collective disruption through a co-created ecosystem is recognized by stakeholders on the ground and within the government, validating our ambitions,” emphasizes Kiran Dsouza, Head of IT at Boehringer Ingelheim IMETA.

This acknowledgment underscores the significance of our collaborative efforts, serving as a prime example of how, by working together, we can empower communities to improve their living conditions and make a meaningful contribution to enhance access to health in the most remote areas of this world.

“Nearly all our deliveries are now drone-supported, cutting customer wait times from several days to a maximum of eight hours.”

Peter Adwin, CEO of CowTribe

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Find out more about Boehringer Ingelheim’s global sustainablility initiatives, ranging from creating more sustainable healthcare solutions and community engagement with impact to environmental stewardship in Imagine: our sustainability story hub.

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Originally published on Sesame Workshop

Free bilingual videos, printables, and articles aim to inspire young children and their families to be active members in their communities.

NEW YORK, November 12, 2024 /3BL/ – Sesame Workshop, the global nonprofit behind Sesame Street, launched new free, bilingual resources today to help children learn the importance of being engaged with their community by helping others, working together, and being kind. These resources are made possible with generous support from the PSEG Foundation and join the current lineup of resources under the Little Neighbors: Building a Better World Together initiative to help young children and their families build a better world together. Through teamwork, little neighbors everywhere can tackle challenges big and small and take care of their families, communities, and the environment.

Children have the potential to be changemakers. When young children, along with their families, are engaged with their communities and providers, it can promote a sense of belonging, responsibility, and empowerment. With these new resources, Sesame Workshop aims to support and inspire children and their families to actively engage in their communities and, ultimately, help care for our planet and make the world a better place for all. Key strategies include tackling challenges through teamwork as a family, identifying ways young children can make a difference, and understanding how little acts of kindness can make a big impact.

The new resources in English and Spanish include videos, printable activities, and articles, featuring Elmo, Abby, and other Sesame Street friends as they explore various aspects of community engagement:

In “A Garden of Support”, Abby, her mom, Maggie, her stepbrother, Rudy, and other Sesame Street friends work together to clean up the community garden.“Little Helpers, Big Helping” features Abby and Maggie helping a Twiddlebug family build a playground, to show a small gesture can make a big difference.In “Helping at Home, Helping the Neighborhood”, Julia helps her mom, Elena, clean containers for the community center, and the whole family finds things at home to donate to the local drive.In “Little Neighbors Can Do Big Things”, Elmo and Abby build a birdhouse to help the street’s newest resident feel welcome.Other resources include six printable activities: Helping and Caring, Julia’s Community Mural, Playground Helpers, Together Trail, Community Garden Clean-up, and Community Connections as well as two articles entitled “Empowering Kids to Make a Big Impact in Their Communities” and “Engaging Kids with Nature and Community: Outdoor Activities and Adventures”.

“We know that children are naturally curious and eager to learn about the world around them,” said Jeanette Betancourt, Ed.D., Senior Vice President of U.S. Social Impact, Sesame Workshop. “When we provide them with tools and resources to actively engage in their communities, we set the foundation early on to empower children as they continue to learn and grow to be kind, compassionate, and respectful of others and to make a positive difference in the world.”

In celebration of 10-years of partnership, the PSEG Foundation will host an event today on World Environment Day with a guest appearance by Costume Character Elmo and a presentation of the Little Neighbors Program materials, video & volunteer sheets. The event highlights the program as a resource for schools, families, and organizations to teach children how to care for their environment and become helpful community members.

“PSEG is proud that, through our partnership with Sesame Workshop, we’ve been able to help families throughout New Jersey better prepare for extreme weather and other disasters, develop environmental awareness, and expand their appreciation to the larger world. We’re excited to launch new resources that focus on our environment, under our Little Neighbors initiative,” said Rick Thigpen, PSEG senior vice president – Corporate Citizenship. “We know that when children act on their curiosity and get excited about protecting our planet, they often become catalysts for change within their families and communities.”

Building on its longstanding partnership with the PSEG Foundation, Sesame Workshop aims to provide parents, caregivers and community providers with tools and strategies to show children that small actions can have a big impact in their community, their neighborhood, and in the world. Resources to help parents and caregivers support children to become more active in their communities can be found at sesame.org/littleneighbors.

About Sesame Workshop 
Sesame Workshop is the global impact nonprofit behind Sesame Street and so much more. For over 50 years, we have worked at the intersection of education, media, and research, creating joyful experiences that enrich minds and expand hearts, all in service of empowering each generation to build a better world. Our beloved characters, iconic shows, outreach in communities, and more bring playful early learning to families in more than 150 countries and advance our mission to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org and follow Sesame Workshop on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok.

About PSEG Foundation 
The PSEG Foundation (501(c)(3), the philanthropic arm of Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) (NYSE:PEG), prioritizes investments in promoting environmental sustainability, social justice, and equity and economic empowerment. 

About PSEG 
Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) (NYSE: PEG) is a predominantly regulated infrastructure company focused on a clean energy future. Guided by its Powering Progress vision, PSEG aims to power a future where people use less energy, and it’s cleaner, safer and delivered more reliably than ever. PSEG’s commitment to ESG and sustainability is demonstrated in our net-zero 2030 climate vision and participation in the U.N. Race to Zero, as well as our inclusion on the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index and the list of America’s most JUST Companies. PSEG’s businesses include Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G), PSEG Power and PSEG Long Island.

Contact

Leighann Dunkley, Sesame Workshop
leighann.dunkley@sesame.org

Lauren Ugorji, PSEG
Lauren.Ugorji@pseg.com

CINCINNATI, November 12, 2024 /3BL/ – Fifth Third Bank continues its historic clean energy progress today by introducing hyper-fast electric vehicle (EV) chargers for the first time at one of its banking centers. Fifth Third is making six hyper-fast charging stations publicly available at its eTown location in Jacksonville, Florida to better serve current EV owners and those considering transitioning to an EV.

Through a collaboration with Electrify America, the largest open Hyper-Fast charging network in the U.S., EV drivers can charge at the new eTown station and manage their fast-charging plan through Electrify America’s industry-leading mobile app. The eTown station is featured on Electrify America’s “locate a charger” map, which includes more than 1000 stations and over 4,400 chargers in the U.S. and Canada.

In addition to the hyper-fast chargers, Fifth Third offers 72 EV charging ports across its footprint. Fifth Third also continues to expand its solar capacity across new branches. Fifth Third’s eTown location will be one of more than 25 branches now powered by solar with plans to more than double that amount in the next year. Fifth Third continues to open new locations across the Southeast in the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.

The eTown Banking Center is a model for sustainability and occupies a modest 1,900 square feet. Fifth Third redesigned its branches to seamlessly blend a customer’s digital experience with any banking they would prefer to do in-person, including discussions about college savings plans, mortgages, or retirement solutions. In the new, streamlined banking centers, traditional transaction space has given way to a compact, modular design with flexible meeting and seating areas that offer adjustable layers of privacy.

“We’re thrilled to be offering the convenience of rapid charging at eTown to meet the demands of our customers who drive electric,” said Thomas Neltner, director of enterprise workplace services and chief security officer for Fifth Third.

Since 2019, Fifth Third has purchased 100% renewable power, which started as a result of a virtual power purchase agreement that launched the 80 MW Aulander Holloman solar facility in North Carolina. In 2023, solar power generation from the facility was more than 190,000 megawatt hours – enough to power over 25,000 homes, or the equivalent of emissions from over 29,000 gas-powered vehicles.

As part of the bank’s commitment to provide transparency and data aligned to industry standards for all its stakeholders, Fifth Third has published its sustainability data in its 2023 Sustainability Report, which aligns with the GRI Index, the SASB standards, and the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics index.

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About Fifth Third 
Fifth Third is a bank that’s as long on innovation as it is on history. Since 1858, we’ve been helping individuals, families, businesses and communities grow through smart financial services that improve lives. Our list of firsts is extensive, and it’s one that continues to expand as we explore the intersection of tech-driven innovation, dedicated people and focused community impact. Fifth Third is one of the few U.S.-based banks to have been named among Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies® for several years. With a commitment to taking care of our customers, employees, communities and shareholders, our goal is not only to be the nation’s highest performing regional bank, but to be the bank people most value and trust.

Fifth Third Bank, National Association is a federally chartered institution. Fifth Third Bancorp is the indirect parent company of Fifth Third Bank and its common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Deposit and credit products provided by Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC.

CONTACT 
Sophie Isherwood (Media Relations) 
sophie.isherwood@53.com 
Matt Curoe (Investor Relations) 
matthew.curoe@53.com | 513-534-2345

Originally published in Principal Financial Group 2023 Sustainability Report

Our work in the community

Our approach 

Encouraging Principal employees to bring their passions and purpose to work is the core of the Principal Gives Back program, which connects them to our philanthropic culture through volunteer opportunities and incentives and a match giving program. The program draws on the expertise and resources of the business to strengthen communities and create lasting impact in the cities where our employees live and work.

True to our culture, our participants supported 4,312 causes across 30 countries and volunteered over 64,000 hours. From giving to community-based organizations through match giving and Dollars for Doers programs, to packing food and hygiene kits for underprivileged families and unhoused individuals, to mentoring school children and young people, Principal employees provided their time, expertise, and resources to better their communities near and far.

Our actions and performance in 2023 

In 2023, Principal employees supported our communities with:

64,626 volunteer hours logged by eligible users$5.5M matching dollars given to eligible organizations by Principal® Foundation

World Central Kitchen 

In 2023, for the first time in our history, Principal® Foundation created a global series of employee engagement events that connected a Principal® Foundation grantee and employees of Principal. In collaboration with World Central Kitchen (WCK), Principal® Foundation created a series of activations that allowed Principal employees to learn about the organization, the crises WCK responds to, and understand why Principal® Foundation supports them. The events also provided hands-on assistance by packing meals that were donated to local organizations. In 2023, Principal, together with Principal® Foundation, activated in Manila, Philippines and Charlotte, North Carolina. In Manila, Principal employees packaged 2,000 meal kits that can each feed a family of four for two weeks. In Charlotte, Principal employees packaged 1,300 sandwich meals for local after school programs.

Pedal to Paris 

Over 30 Principal employees from six offices came together to cycle more than 180 miles from London to Paris and Frankfurt to Paris as a fundraiser. Together they raised over $64,000 for two charities: We are Beam, which provides comprehensive support services to children and young people with any form of physical, learning, or sensory impairment; and Kleine Helden Little Heroes, which provides home quality of life care for seriously ill or terminally ill children. The enthusiasm for this event garnered support and donations from employees around the world.

To learn more, read the Principal Financial Group 2023 Sustainability Report.

Principal Financial Group Foundation, Inc (“Principal® Foundation”) is a duly recognized 501(c)(3) entity focused on providing philanthropic support to programs that build financial security in the communities where Principal Financial Group, Inc. (“Principal’ operates. While Principal Foundation receives funding from Principal, Principal Foundation is a distinc independent, charitabl entity. Principal Foundation does not practice any form of investment advisory services and is not authorized to do so. © 2024 Principal Foundation.

Insurance products issued by Principal National Life Insurance Co (except in NY) and Principal Life Insurance Company®. Plan administrative services offered by Principal Life. Principal Funds, Inc. is distributed by Principal Funds Distributor, Inc. Securities offered through Principal Securities, Inc., member SIPC and/or independent broker/dealers. Referenced companies are members of the Principal Financial Group®, Des Moines, IA 50392.​

3785778-102024

Earlier this week, T-Mobile activated its emergency response operations to support first responders and affected communities in Ventura County, Calif. as the Mountain Fire grows to over 20,000 acres, with 7% containment. We’re also closely monitoring winds in Northern California due to previous red flag warnings for more than 27 million people across the state. 

In Ventura County, our network is holding strong with only a small number of sites impacted, and some customers will have service due to overlapping coverage. Our emergency technicians and engineers will assess those sites as soon as conditions safely allow. We’ve deployed additional network resources to the Padre Sierra Parish church in Camarillo, Calif. to support customers, communities, first responders and relief organizations stationed at the church. Here’s more on our support: 

Network  

T-Mobile continually invests in preparing the network for extreme weather, including California’s unpredictable wildfires. Our efforts include leveraging AI, data, network hardening and emergency assets to minimize service interruptions and swiftly recover connectivity following a fire.  

Across California including Ventura County, T-Mobile’s network has been hardened and reinforced with generators in the event of commercial power loss and additional portable generators are ready to deploy as needed. AI capabilities within T-Mobile’s network — including our Cognitive Self-Organizing Network (SON) and automatic antenna tilting — optimize signal, expand coverage areas and avoid congestion helping to reduce service interruptions through a wildfire’s unpredictability. Overlapping coverage in many areas may further reduce service interruptions.  Heavy duty network equipment, including mobile cell sites called SatCOLTs (Satellite Cell on Light Trucks), are on standby with assets already deployed in Camarillo, Calif.  

First Responders 

T-Mobile is actively working with federal, state and local public safety agencies as well as California’s State Operations Center (SOC) in Sacramento to prioritize coverage restoration and meet first responder needs. First responders, emergency officials and other eligible critical infrastructure customers can register for Wireless Priority Service (WPS) to get priority access and preemption at no cost. Agencies needing communications assistance can contact our 24-hour emergency hotline at 888-639-0020 or email ERTRequests@T-Mobile.com.

Community Support

T-Mobile’s teams have been coordinating with the American Red Cross and other agencies to provide Wi-Fi connectivity and charging supplies for customers, communities and anyone who needs it in Ventura County.

For more information on T-Mobile’s emergency response efforts and for tips to stay connected visit: https://www.t-mobile.com/news/emergency-response. For more information on T-Priority, coming soon for first responders, visit: https://www.t-mobile.com/news/business/t-priority-network-slice-for-first-responders. Follow @TMobileNews on X, formerly known as Twitter, to stay up to date with the latest company news.

Improving health outcomes and reducing barriers to care starts in our own backyard. That’s why the Gilead Foundation’s Healthcare Education, Access and Leadership (HEAL) Initiative is dedicating $5 million to helping build a Bay Area healthcare workforce that’s more diverse and representative of the patient population it serves. Learn more: https://gilead.inc/3UkIV5M

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative medicines in areas of unmet medical need. The company strives to transform and simplify care for people with life-threatening illnesses around the world. Gilead has operations in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California. 

Originally published by Gilead Sciences

Often in natural disasters, critical infrastructure can become severely compromised which affects our ability to communicate and take on essential tasks. This disruption affects our capacity to text loved ones to let them know we’re safe, call 911 for emergency assistance, and enable first responders to receive calls and dispatch resources. It also hinders emergency management agencies from coordinating and managing response activities and impedes hospitals from accessing electronic medical records, ordering medicine, and filling prescriptions.

As a leader in connectivity solutions, Cisco saw the opportunity to bridge the gap through the creation of the Cisco Crisis Response (CCR) team, initially for government support, and expanding to disaster response after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Since then, the team has responded to over 100 incidents across disasters and humanitarian efforts in 38 countries, providing secure connectivity for emergency response agencies and aid organizations to carry out life-saving activities after a crisis. Rooted in Cisco’s purpose to power an inclusive future for all, Cisco Crisis Response leverages our people, financial resources, technology and strategic partnerships to securely connect and empower crisis-affected communities around the world.

“Cisco has been a great friend of World Central Kitchen and cared for us, with donations but also because members of Cisco show up. We have to keep talking about how technology can help organizations like ours to have a better and quicker response, and more technology is key.” – Chef Jose Andres, Founder of World Central Kitchen

CCR Mobilizing for Hurricane Helene

Recently, our CCR team has been hard at work responding to Hurricane Helene. Its devastating impact was felt by Americans across the southeast, particularly in areas of western North Carolina. Communities hit especially hard found themselves cut off from the rest of the country as they struggled to access power, water, cellular coverage and the Internet. Working with emergency response organizations, Cisco’s Crisis Response team (CCR) quickly mobilized to help mitigate some of the difficulties these communities faced on the road to recovery.

Since the initial impact, 9 CCR staff members and 19 employee volunteers supported response efforts in western North Carolina and elsewhere in the affected region. This effort consisted of:

Dispatching and installing emergency networking kits (often paired with CCR’s low earth orbit satellite terminals) to provide secure connectivity to 11 response organizations, ranging from state emergency management agencies, hospitals and health clinics, police and fire departments, aircraft operations, and local nonprofit centers coordinating volunteers.Continuing to support multiple networks remotely, providing virtual support as needed to the organizations on the ground. A team of CCR volunteers who are security specialists have formed a virtual Security Operations Center to continue monitoring all deployed networks.

The importance of trusted, strategic partnerships cannot be understated when it comes to disaster response. These relationships are often cultivated during ‘blue sky days’, when there is opportunity to explore and define respective roles, technology solutions and complementary offerings. The North Carolina Emergency Management Agency (NCEM) has been a close CCR partner since 2008; in addition to deployments over the years, the team regularly participates in NCEM’s annual communications school, simulation and table-top exercises. As a result, CCR was in touch with NCEM well before Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida and was able to deploy to support their response efforts within hours of their request.

Beyond Connectivity: Cisco’s Culture of Giving Back 

CCR’s dedicated staff is accompanied by over 800 Cisco employee volunteers that are signed up and trained to support. We see these employees as extensions of the team – “force multipliers”. We’re proud to have employees and CCR volunteers who care and step up to these challenges. In our Hurricane Helene response, CCR volunteers deployed to support response organizations and install networks, provided back-office and logistics support at Cisco’s RTP site, and served as couriers to bring equipment back and forth between the Cisco office and affected areas. In a two-week period, CCR volunteers contributed over 550 hours of their time and logged over 7000 miles while delivering critically needed equipment or services.

Additionally, CCR launched a Hurricane Helene Disaster Relief campaign, to support the response efforts of the American Red Cross, Americares and World Central Kitchen. In about a month from the end of September until now, over $800,000 have been raised in donations from Cisco, Cisco Foundation, and their employees. Specifically, $359,000 has been raised in employee donations and Cisco matches, and $460,000 have been donated in cash grants from Cisco and Cisco Foundation to non-profit partners including the American Red Cross, Team Rubicon, Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC), and the Diaper Bank of North Carolina.

Cisco stands with those impacted by the recent hurricanes, and remains committed to providing support, resources and solutions to help affected communities recover and rebuild.

View original content here.

Originally published on Built From Scratch

In honor of Veterans Day and the annual Operation Surprise initiative, The Home Depot Foundation is investing $10 million to help veterans age in their current residences and avoid homelessness. This significant funding will address the urgent need for accessible and stable housing for aging veterans, a population that is expected to surge in the coming decades.

According to recent projections from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the number of veterans over the age of 85 who require care will increase by a staggering 535% over the next 20 years. Research also indicates that homelessness among individuals aged 65 and older will reach its peak by 2030, with veterans being disproportionately affected compared to the general population. While veteran homelessness has decreased by 55% over the past decade, it began to rise again in 2023.

“As veterans age, small accessibility modifications can mean the difference between remaining in their own homes versus being displaced,” said Erin Izen, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation. “With this new $10 million investment, The Home Depot Foundation is proud to further our support of our nonprofit partners improving veteran housing across the country, helping veterans safely maintain their independence for years to come.”

The funding announced today will facilitate:

Creation of affordable housing: Over 230 new or refurbished rental units constructed by organizations including U.S.VETS and Coalition for Responsible Community Development will be made available for veterans.Critical home repairs: More than 125 urgent home repairs for low-income veteran families will be conducted by organizations such as Operation Homefront.Financial relief: Rental and/or mortgage assistance provided by Housing Assistance Council and similar organizations will be provided to over 270 veterans.Home adaptations and smart homes: 400 home adaptations and critical home repairs will be completed by Semper Fi & America’s Fund, and seven new fully custom smart homes will be built by Gary Sinise Foundation for veterans with significant service-related disabilities.

“The generous investment from The Home Depot Foundation is an important step forward in our shared mission to support and uplift our veterans through housing,” said Stephen Peck, CEO of U.S.VETS. “We are honored to be a partner in this initiative to expand affordable, accessible supportive housing that meets the needs of those who have bravely served our nation.”

In celebration of its annual Operation Surprise initiative, The Home Depot Foundation and Team Depot, The Home Depot’s associate volunteer force, will undertake hundreds of service projects nationwide to enhance the safety and accessibility of veterans’ homes. Throughout the month of November, Team Depot will focus on making veteran housing safer, more accessible and livable for the long run. Beyond physical improvements, Team Depot will also deliver special moments of appreciation to honor those who have served.

On Veterans Day last year, The Home Depot Foundation announced it had surpassed $500 million invested in veteran causes since 2011, meeting its previous financial commitment two years early. The Foundation also laid out plans to grow its mission to serve those who served with an updated commitment of $750 million to veteran causes by 2030. Through this incremental $250 million commitment, the Foundation, its nonprofit partners and Team Depot will focus primarily on affordable housing issues and will impact an estimated 50,000 veterans.

The Home Depot is proud to have tens of thousands of veterans, service members and military spouses in orange aprons. To learn more about The Home Depot’s commitment to the veteran and military communities, visit homedepot.com/military. Follow #OperationSurprise to see how the Foundation and Team Depot are making homes more welcoming for veterans across the country.

Keep up with all the latest Home Depot news! Subscribe to our bi-weekly news update and get the top Built from Scratch stories delivered straight to your inbox.

International Olympic Committee news

The President of France Emmanuel Macron was presented with the Olympic Order on Wednesday 28 August by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, at an official ceremony held at the Elysée Palace in Paris. 

In recognition of his unstinting support for the success of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and his attachment to the Olympic ideal dear to Pierre de Coubertin, President Emmanuel Macron was presented with the Olympic Order in gold. This distinction pays tribute to his untiring engagement and vision for the Olympic Games, which made the edition in Paris an unforgettable event and a symbol for the unity of humankind.

Upon being elected in 2017, Macron threw his full support behind Paris’s candidature to host the Games in 2024. During his first visit to the IOC in Lausanne, Macron not only expressed his support but also demonstrated his deep understanding and unique vision for the Olympic project. He recognised the considerable potential of the Games to unite France and inspire the world.

“The first time we met, it was very quickly clear to me that President Emmanuel Macron was bringing a particular energy and vision to this project,” IOC President Thomas Bach recalled. “He did not just support the candidature, he embraced it wholeheartedly”.

“He knew every detail of the project and always saw the Olympic Games Paris 2024 as a unifying project, using the power of sport to bring the people of France together, and in so doing, uniting the whole world.”

Despite the political challenges and risks inherent to a project of this scale, President Macron could see beyond the candidature itself. His leadership was decisive in bringing together the public authorities at every level, transcending political differences and creating a unique political unity around these Games in Paris.

“You were the driving force which brought together the public authorities at every level and from every political background around this Olympic project,” the IOC President stressed during the ceremony. “Your tireless energy and the unifying power of sport produced a truly magical occasion.”

One of the most striking examples of this cooperation was the organisation of the Olympic Games’ Opening Ceremony, an unprecedented event in the heart of Paris. An idea put forward by the IOC that President Macron, in agreement with the Organising Committee and the French authorities, turned into spectacular reality, with a ceremony along the River Seine featuring iconic monuments like Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. This historic moment focused the eyes of the world on Paris, France and the Olympic Movement, thus becoming a symbol of unity and peace.

“Your unfailing commitment and attention to detail bore fantastic fruit,” President Bach added. “The world witnessed a historic Olympic event with a truly spectacular Opening Ceremony.”

Macron also supported the peace mission of the Olympic Games at a time when the IOC was facing numerous attacks and boycott threats related to the participation of all athletes regardless of their nationality.

“You have always respected our mission to bring the world together in peaceful competition,” Bach added. “Your approach based on always respecting the peace mission of the Olympic Games greatly contributed to enabling us to bring together the athletes from the territories of all 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team at the Olympic Games Paris 2024,” he observed.

The full text of the IOC President’s speech can be found here.

Upon receiving this distinction, President Macron said: “You are doing me a great honour by presenting me with this Order, and recognition which goes to France. […] Together, we made a wonderful success of these Games. Thank you for this honour. […] Your words about the organisation of the Olympic Games are not for one person, but for the commitment of a whole nation. […] It was a human collective that was involved for seven years. But it got involved first because of your trust in us. And so I shall respond to your thanks with my own sincere thanks, as without the trust of the IOC, its members, its administration and all the teams, without the constant, demanding yet sympathetic work over seven years, we would never have been able to accomplish all this.”

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The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit, civil, non-governmental, international organisation made up of volunteers which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 4.2 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

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For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000, email: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.ioc.org.

Broadcast quality footage

The IOC Newsroom: https://newsroom.olympics.com/

Videos

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Andrew Martin, executive vice president, Cascale participated in the inaugural global apparel factory summit hosted by Avery Dennison, a Cascale member at the forefront of sustainability and innovation. Avery Dennison is a global materials science and digital identification solutions company that provides a wide range of branding and information solutions that optimize labor and supply chain efficiency, reduce waste, advance sustainability, circularity and transparency, and better connect brands and consumers. The event took place in Singapore in September and attendees included a select group of owners and CEOs of manufacturing facilities in Asia and Europe. Presentations and discussions centered around challenges in the supply chain, from traceability to circularity.

In a fireside chat, Martin began by sharing the main purpose of his attendance: to listen to the concerns and challenges of manufacturers—voices that need greater attention, especially in the context of traceability—and to explore how Cascale, in its role as a convener of the entire value chain, can support them. He examined how the supply chain must work together to unlock transparency and traceability. Both referenced data from Cascale’s Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) tool, which is exclusively available on Worldly. The Higg FEM is a transformative tool used to assess the environmental impact of product manufacturing at facilities, from water use to waste management, to chemical and energy use.

Martin’s presentation was especially relevant to attendees in showcasing how transformative Higg FEM data is for advancing facility improvements while reducing redundancy. He emphasized the value of the Higg Index tools in offering standardized approaches and highlighted Cascale’s crucial role in reducing duplication, increasing harmonization, and ensuring consistency, particularly in the context of data collection for traceability in response to upcoming regulations. Additional speakers included Steve Lamar, president and CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA), among others.

Martin also shared learnings from Cascale members, noting that since much of the, legislation, —such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting & Due Diligence Directives (CSRD & CSDDD), Eco-Design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), and Digital Product Passport (DPP), and the US’s Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA),—are still pending further clarification, and even aligned implementation, the focus of ESG data collection processes is still being focused just on compliance with specific data points. He emphasized however that the importance of the industry shifting towards traceability, that enables more effective due diligence, risk identification, and opportunities for and verification of ESG progress.

Martin emphasized the importance of making sustainability information transparent at the site level, a core component of traceability, defined as “the process of creating visibility of materials, products, and the information in which they were produced through the supply chain, to ensure the accountability of environmental and social progress.” He characterized the burden that traceability places on manufacturers as “irrational” and called for rapid collaboration on pragmatic interventions to harmonize the ESG data reporting landscape, standardizing supply chain data points, align data collection templates and questionnaires, and harmonizing data requests and verification cycles.

He also mentioned initiatives like Cascale’s decarbonization programs, including the Manufacturer Climate Action Program (MCAP), inviting attendees to consider their involvement.